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"Cult hero" drivers

Started by Andrew Hope , Jun 21 2013 01:56

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141 replies to this topic

#1 Andrew Hope

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 01:56

I thought this might be an interesting thread. Who are some drivers who typically don't win championships or even a lot of races, but nevertheless command a respectable following for reasons other than wildly successful careers?

A few I would suggest:

Shane van Gisbergen - V8 Supercars driver, does fun stuff like drifting celebrations.
Jacques Villeneuve - Love him or hate him a lot of people get excited whenever he shows up on Nascar grids.
Karun Chandhok - More people became a fan of him for his commentating than his racing.
Gigi Galli - Mental rally driver who never won anything in 10 years of WRC, apart from the hearts of fans.

Who else? There's gotta be tons more. Post up some good Youtube links whenever possible. There are some other obvious ones but I don't want to list too many.

And a small warning: like any other thread you can post whatever you want, but as a general rule of thumb, if you think Lewis Hamilton/Fernando Alonso/Michael Schumacher belongs in this thread, you don't know what a cult hero is, and you may want to Google some definitions before you reply.

#2 Deluxx

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 01:57

Jpm.

Bari-chello.

#3 Atreiu

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 02:17

Alesi, easily. I think most will agree.
Berger is a cult driver to me, best ofthe rest after Senna, Prost, Piquet and Mansell.

And Raul Boesel in Indy, and Roberto Pupo Moreno.

Edited by Atreiu, 21 June 2013 - 13:24.

#4 HaydenFan

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 02:24

Oriol Servia. This guy has 1 win in nearly 15 years of open wheel racing (as a sub for the best team by a mile in Champ Car at the time) in the U.S. (won the Indy Lights title without winning a race), yet still can find a ride with ease compared to some.

#5 bourbon

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 02:35

Gilles Villeneuve
James Hunt

#6 gm914

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 03:14

Why not Sato?

#7 DanardiF1

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 03:35

Kamui Kobayashi... is the answer

#8 Brother Fox

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 03:35

Juha Kankkunen, if only for giving me the opportunity to say "Juha Kankkunen" out loud

#9 Nobody

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 04:06

The French Sicilian no doubt (that's Jean Alesi to the uninitiated)
good insight here on the great man
http://www.dailymoti...esi-crash_auto#

everyone Japanese (except Nakajima Jnr)

Edited by Nobody, 21 June 2013 - 04:09.

#10 teejay

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 04:07

Satoooooooo

KK

#11 Jimisgod

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 04:33

Gilles (never won the WDC but considered one of the best ever), Alesi, Jos the Boss (until he Jossed his girlfriend), Minardi, Kamui, Kubica :cry:

#12 DriveFastLiveSlow

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 04:53

Henri Toivonen.

#13 Deluxx

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 05:15

Always been a fan of Heikki, regardless

#14 seahawk

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 05:19

First of all Lewis Hamilton

Walter Röhrl - alyways been a fan of him

Edited by seahawk, 21 June 2013 - 15:41.

#15 maverick69

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 06:10

René Arnoux!

And in recent times - Sato.

#16 jonpollak

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 06:34

JYS..
First Rate Driver and Broadcaster
Cult of the K-Band satellite brigade baby.
Posted Image

#17 pingu666

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 06:35

boris said? The said head crazy fans :-)

robby gordon, king of diy. Races his own truck, sponsored by his own drink, in a series with his name in it.

#18 Beamer

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 07:21

Who are some drivers who typically don't win championships or even a lot of races, but nevertheless command a respectable following for reasons other than wildly successful careers?

First of all Lewis Hamilton

Ahh... we finally agree on something...

if you think Lewis Hamilton/Fernando Alonso/Michael Schumacher belongs in this thread, you don't know what a cult hero is, and you may want to Google some definitions before you reply.
...

For me, being Dutch, it has to be Jos the Boss obviously!

And JVi/JPM/Sato/Koba have always been among my favorites. Looking at that list... Basically all drivers that could do great kinda wild stuff, but seem to have brainfades on regular basis as well! :rotfl:

Wonder what that says about me....

Edited by Beamer, 21 June 2013 - 07:27.

#19 sopa

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 07:40

Sato and Kobayashi are certainly good cases among drivers, who don't have results to stand out in F1, but had lots of fans nevertheless. Minardi the same among teams.

#20 William Hunt

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 07:48

My racing 'heroes', there are just too many to name: Jacky Ickx, Henri Toivonen, Elio de Angelis, Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Mario Andretti, Sandro Munari, Riccardo Patrese, James Hunt,.... would be certainly among them. Ickx probably is my all time favourite driver, he's such a gentleman and he was bloody quick in the rain, at the Nordschleife, Le Mans or the old Spa. An oldschool driver and probably the best sportscar driver that ever lived.

Edited by William Hunt, 21 June 2013 - 07:49.

#21 Jackmancer

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 08:08

Vittorio Brambilla, "The Monza Gorilla".

Posted Image

#22 Cool Beans

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 08:14

I thought this might be an interesting thread. Who are some drivers who typically don't win championships or even a lot of races, but nevertheless command a respectable following for reasons other than wildly successful careers?

A few I would suggest:

Shane van Gisbergen - V8 Supercars driver, does fun stuff like drifting celebrations.
Jacques Villeneuve - Love him or hate him a lot of people get excited whenever he shows up on Nascar grids.
Karun Chandhok - More people became a fan of him for his commentating than his racing.
Gigi Galli - Mental rally driver who never won anything in 10 years of WRC, apart from the hearts of fans.

Who else? There's gotta be tons more. Post up some good Youtube links whenever possible. There are some other obvious ones but I don't want to list too many.

And a small warning: like any other thread you can post whatever you want, but as a general rule of thumb, if you think Lewis Hamilton/Fernando Alonso/Michael Schumacher belongs in this thread, you don't know what a cult hero is, and you may want to Google some definitions before you reply.

J Villeneuve doesn't win races or championships? Take a look at the stats and make sure you're sober when posting. I'm not but I can see that's ********.

#23 Blinkandimgone

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 08:18

Riccardo Patrese was my first favourite driver still think he's a legend

#24 Haribo

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 08:18

Jean Alesi
Tony Kanaan
Satoooooooooo
Kobayashi
Danica Patrick :eek:

Edited by Haribo, 21 June 2013 - 10:41.

#25 jonpollak

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 08:32

J Villeneuve doesn't win races or championships? Take a look at the stats and make sure you're sober when posting. I'm not but I can see that's ********.

These kids...Geez...
Jp

#26 Cool Beans

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 08:57

These kids...Geez...
Jp

That's right. Back when I was a kid... well back when I was a kid pretty much the great drivers were the same as today. And JV sucked back then too. But we were respectful, damnit.

#27 Kristian

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 09:04

Having been in the grandstand when Sato took Alonso in Canada '07, I think he's got to be the winner here - I've never seen a crowd go so mental over a driver not from their country take 6th place!

#28 Disgrace

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 09:24

Zanardi, albeit less of the "cult" part.

Edited by Disgrace, 21 June 2013 - 09:25.

#29 EightGear

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 09:28

Jos the Boss (until he Jossed his girlfriend)

He didn't. He was declared innocent in court.

Edited by EightGear, 21 June 2013 - 09:28.

#30 Freung

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 10:04

Jean Alesi
Tony Kanaan
Satoooooooooo
Kobayashi
Danic Patrick

Hamilton and Rubens for me. :cat:

#31 JtP1

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 11:00

Nigel Mansell, he was always reckoned to be a bit of a cult by his team and many fans.

#32 barrykm

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 11:22

So many to choose from, but for me it is Jean Alesi, Riccardo Patrese, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

#33 Slackbladder

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 11:34

Nigel Mansell, he was always reckoned to be a bit of a cult by his team and many fans.

One letter wrong

I would say Kimi, (although a race winner and WC) falls into that section, for his attitude and style.

#34 BenettonB192

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 11:36

Hans Joachim Stuck

He's still very popular in Germany despite the height of his career being long over and more succesful German drivers being around. It has much to do with his charisma and sense of humor imo.

#35 seahawk

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 11:39

+1 on Stuck and Mansell

#36 Brandz07

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:03

Martin Brundle!

#37 JHSingo

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:24

First of all Lewis Hamilton

For me, being Dutch, it has to be Jos the Boss obviously!

That woman beater...err... :confused:

My suggestions would be Marcus Gronholm and Petter Solberg. Sure, they've won a few WRC titles between them, but they are also great guys that you can always rely on for a brilliant one-liner. Spectacular as hell, but both desperately unlucky more often than not.

Edited by JHSingo, 21 June 2013 - 12:25.

#38 danmills

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:33

James Hunt
Zanardi
Kimi
Mansell
Jackie Stewart/Emmo Fittipaldi's Sideburns
Alesi
Berger
JPM
JV
Sato
Murray Walker
Flavio

Edited by danmills, 21 June 2013 - 12:34.

#39 Dunder

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:33

Gerhard Berger
Jean Alesi
Kamui Kobayashi

#40 schumimercamg

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:39

Inoue, no joke.

#41 OvDrone

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:41

Since I've been watching motorsport:

Alesi, Jaques V, Kubica, Colin McRae, Sato, Colin Edwards, Greg Moore, Zanardi, Coronel, Van Gisbergen, JPM, Tony Kanaan, Dale jr., Peter Solberg, Kobayashi, Danica, Robby Gordon @ Dakar ... there are more I guess, but it doesn't cross my mind yet. I would add Berger, McNish too.

All in different degrees and nuances of cultness.

On a sidenote: the posthumous cult heroes should be in a different category or something like that, I guess: Moore, Gilles, Cevert, De Angelis, Von Tripps, Weldon, Simoncelli, Katoh.

Edited by OvDrone, 21 June 2013 - 12:47.

#42 fastwriter

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:54

For me:

Stefan "the Beast" Bellof

and

Uwe "the Animal" Alzen.

Two guys with iron balls and no fear at all. Sadly Bellof paid with his life for his bravery

#43 JHSingo

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:58

Greg Moore

Red gloves rule.

#44 Atreiu

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 13:26

And Kubica. If I have ever seen a future WDCs carreer cut short.

#45 maverick69

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 13:32

And Kubica. If I have ever seen a future WDCs carreer cut short.

More a "Cult" of Poland and Mark Hughes than a genuine, universal "Cult Driver" IMO.

Was a top F1 driver though......

#46 EightGear

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 13:42

That woman beater...err...

Like I said, he didn't and was declared innocent in court.

And Gronholm, well this is just great:

Edited by EightGear, 21 June 2013 - 13:43.

#47 JHSingo

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 13:48

Like I said, he didn't and was declared innocent in court.

Still fractured a guy's skull at a kart tracks several years ago though, and was arrested over attempted murder in January last year. There are many ways I'd describe Verstappen, but "cult hero" isn't one of them.

Anyway, yeah, the second one is still classic. Especially the gesture...

Edited by JHSingo, 21 June 2013 - 13:52.

#48 Wander

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 13:55

Taki Inoue definitely.

#49 GSiebert

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 13:57

Paul Tracy
Andrea de Cesaris

#50 Zoetrope

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 14:01

More a "Cult" of Poland and Mark Hughes than a genuine, universal "Cult Driver" IMO.

Was a top F1 driver though......

I agree, he is incredibly popular here in Poland, but I am afraid globally no one will remember him in 20 years. Unless he comes back to F1 and wins the title! :smoking:

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"Cult hero" drivers

#1 Andrew Hope

#2 Deluxx

#3 Atreiu

#4 HaydenFan

#5 bourbon

#6 gm914

#7 DanardiF1

#8 Brother Fox

#9 Nobody

#10 teejay

#11 Jimisgod

#12 DriveFastLiveSlow

#13 Deluxx

#14 seahawk

#15 maverick69

#16 jonpollak

#17 pingu666

#18 Beamer

#19 sopa

#20 William Hunt

#21 Jackmancer

#22 Cool Beans

#23 Blinkandimgone

#24 Haribo

#25 jonpollak

#26 Cool Beans

#27 Kristian

#28 Disgrace

#29 EightGear

#30 Freung

#31 JtP1

#32 barrykm

#33 Slackbladder

#34 BenettonB192

#35 seahawk

#36 Brandz07

#37 JHSingo

#38 danmills

#39 Dunder

#40 schumimercamg

#41 OvDrone

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